Obiettivi Formativi

Gli studenti acquisiranno gli strumenti critici per interpretare le peculiarità della cultura americana, la ridefinizione identitaria veicolata attraverso la produzione letteraria, insieme agli strumenti per l’analisi di diverse tipologie testuali. Acquisteranno inoltre consapevolezza della complessità multiculturale americana e del delicato equilibrio tra “mainstream” e gruppi minoritari.

Learning Goals

. Students will acquire the critical skills to understand the peculiarities of American culture, the redefinition of its identity conveyed through its literature, together with the critical tools to analyse different text typologies. Students will also become aware of the American multicultural complexity and the delicate balance between “mainstream” and minority groups.

Metodi didattici

Lezioni, seminari, presentazioni

Teaching Methods

Lessons, seminars, class presentations

Prerequisiti

Conoscenza generale del contesto storico-culturale del mondo anglofono. Raggiungimento degli obiettivi formativi previsti dal corso di Lingua inglese I.

Prerequisites

General knowledge of the cultural-historical context of the English-speaking area. Achievement of the learning goals set by English Language I

Verifiche dell'apprendimento

Esame orale

Assessment

Oral exam

Programma del Corso

Il corso è suddiviso in tre moduli. MODULO 1: Storia della letteratura angloamericana dal periodo coloniale fino ai giorni nostri. MODULO 2: Analisi e commento dei seguenti testi. 1. Anne Bradstreet, “The Author to Her Book”, “Upon the Burning of Our House”, “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild--Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceased August, 1665, Being a Year and a Half Old”. 2. The Declaration of Independence 3. Washington Irving, “Rip Van Winkle” 4. Edgar Allan Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher” 5. Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown” 6. Ralph Waldo Emerson, from Nature: “Introduction”, Chapter 1: “Nature”. 7. Walt Whitman, from Song of Myself Sections: 1, 2, 5, 6, 11, 16, 21, 24, 31, 49, 52.8. Emily Dickinson, “Success is counted sweetest”, “Wild Nights—Wild Nights!”, “There is a certain Slant of light”, “This is my letter to the World”, “Because I could not stop for Death”, “Tell all the truth, but tell it slant—”; “The soul selects her own Society-”; “After great pain, a formal feeling comes –”; “Much madness is divinest sense –“ ; “Tie the strings to my life my lord”. 9. Mark Twain. “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”. 10. Robert Frost. “The Road not taken”, “Mending Walls”, “After Apple-Picking”, “The Death of the Hired Man”. 11. William Carlos Williams. “The Red Wheelbarrow”, “The Great Figure”, “Portrait of a Lady”. 12. Zora Neale Hurston. “How it feels to be colored me”. 13. Ernest Hemingway. “Indian Camp”. 14. Francis Scott Fitzgerald, “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz” 15. William Faulkner. “A Rose for Emily”. 16. John Steinbeck. “The leader of the people”. 17. Allen Ginsberg. “Howl” Section 1. 18. Richard Wright. “The Man Who Was Almost a Man”. 19. Toni Morrison. “Recitatif”. 20. Raymond Carver, “Cathedral”. MODULO 3: Introduzione alla cultura americana. Temi centrali come immigrazione, appartenenza etnica, assimilazione e resistenza saranno analizzati in relazione alla formazione ed evoluzione del concetto di identità americana.

Course Syllabus

The syllabus comprises three modules. MODULE 1: History of American literature, from the Puritanism to Postmodernism. MODULE 2: Critical commentary on the following texts: 21. Anne Bradstreet, “The Author to Her Book”, “Upon the Burning of Our House”, “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild--Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceased August, 1665, Being a Year and a Half Old”. 22. The Declaration of Independence 23. Washington Irving, “Rip Van Winkle” 24. Edgar Allan Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher” 25. Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown” 26. Ralph Waldo Emerson, from Nature: “Introduction”, Chapter 1: “Nature”. 27. Walt Whitman, from Song of Myself Sections: 1, 2, 5, 6, 11, 16, 21, 24, 31, 49, 52. 28. Emily Dickinson, “Success is counted sweetest”, “Wild Nights—Wild Nights!”, “There is a certain Slant of light”, “This is my letter to the World”, “Because I could not stop for Death”, “Tell all the truth, but tell it slant—”; “The soul selects her own Society-”; “After great pain, a formal feeling comes –”; “Much madness is divinest sense –“ ; “Tie the strings to my life my lord”. 29. Mark Twain. “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”. 30. Robert Frost. “The Road not taken”, “Mending Walls”, “After Apple-Picking”, “The Death of the Hired Man”. 31. William Carlos Williams. “The Red Wheelbarrow”, “The Great Figure”, “Portrait of a Lady”.32. Zora Neale Hurston. “How it feels to be colored me”. 33. Ernest Hemingway. “Indian Camp”. 34. Francis Scott Fitzgerald, “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz” 35. William Faulkner. “A Rose for Emily”. 36. John Steinbeck. “The leader of the people”. 37. Allen Ginsberg. “Howl” Section 1. 38. Richard Wright. “The Man Who Was Almost a Man”. 39. Toni Morrison. “Recitatif”. 40. Raymond Carver, “Cathedral”. MODULE 3: Introduction to American culture. Important issues such as immigration, assimilation, ethnicity and resistance will be discussed in relation to the evolution of American identity.